Obama Sells the U.S.

President Barack Obama waves after speaking at the SelectUSA 2013 Investment Summit in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2013.

President Barack Obama pledged Thursday to make it easier for foreign companies to invest in the U.S., a key part of his administration’s strategy to spur economic growth and job creation.

Speaking before an audience of more than 1,200 business executives and government officials from around the world, Mr. Obama said the U.S. is ramping up outreach efforts to investors through the SelectUSA program launched two years ago.

For the first time, U.S. commercial missions in 32 countries will be instructed to make foreign investment in the U.S. a priority, in addition to promoting U.S. goods and services. Their efforts will receive support from the Commerce and State Departments as well as the White House.

“Officials at highest levels, up to and including me, are going to do even more to make the case for investment in America,” Mr. Obama said. “There is no substitute for those proud words, ‘Made in America.’”

Mr. Obama noted that has become increasingly active in selling commercial ties to the U.S. around the world. He repeated the joke he has used on similar occasions that he should “get a gold watch” from U.S. companies for his troubles. “I’ve racked up some pretty good sales.”

Despite the push by the U.S. government, some business executives present at the meeting said the U.S. brand has been tarnished by the political impasse in Washington earlier this month that caused a shutdown of the federal government and threatened its ability to pay all of its bills.

“I’m very bullish on America, but Washington is making it more difficult to remain bullish,” said BlackRock Inc. Chief Executive Laurence Fink, whose company invests money for clients all over the world.

The U.S. has long been a top destination for foreign companies to invest, typically involving the opening of subsidiaries or purchasing large stakes in local companies. But the U.S.’s share has been in decline as more money goes to developing countries. In 2012, the U.S. received $168 billion in investments from investors and companies based abroad, ahead of No. 2 recipient China, which attracted $121 billion, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

Faced with a weak economic recovery in 2010, Mr. Obama made boosting the sale of U.S. products abroad and attracting foreign investment top priorities. He pledged to double U.S. exports over a five year period and to actively woo foreign companies interested in investing in the U.S.

Three years later, the U.S. economic recovery remains weak by historical standards. In his fiscal 2014 budget request, the president asked Congress to increase funding for SelectUSA, which the government says receives much less than similar programs in other countries.

The gathering for foreign business leaders this week is the first hosted by the government initiative and is designed to tout the attractions of the U.S. In addition to Mr. Obama, U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew and Secretary of State John Kerry are addressing the group.

In an interview, Ms. Pritzker described this month’s budget impasse as a “short-term issue.” She said most foreign investors take a longer view and are attracted by the cheap energy in the U.S., its rule of law and protections for intellectual property.

“There’s focus on these types of facts and the recognition that they’re going to hold true for a generation and that now’s the time to be positioning oneself here in the U.S.,” she said.

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